In memory, the turbulence created by losing a loved one causes those first long days of mourning to become foggy, but the people who showed up, stood up, and rose up amongst the chaotic whirl of life stand out. As one who has been cocooned in grief and blankets on the edge of the couch…
Tag: Holly Hawes
Finding Rest
Summer vacation is quickly sailing away, and with it the moments dedicated to pursuing rest, adventure, and connection. As I look back on this summer, it is easy to wonder where the sunsets and sunrises went. Packed into the summer were days “off” and trips away, but it was basically being busy in a new…
One Another Friendship
Last week a beautiful thing happened—a friend dropped by. No planning, no consulting our schedules to pencil in a playdate in six weeks pending the weather, possible illness, and the unforeseen mishaps that are bound to happen. Just a knock at the door. As we sat amidst my laundry, watching little ones play we chatted…
The Story of Wonder
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”-Psalm 77:11 There is an upside-down topsy-turvy nature to the story that God is writing. The pages of the Bible take its readers through an unexpected storyline. It’s a lot less #blessed, and a lot more figuring out grace,…
Loving Obedience
“Wow. I could never do what you’re doing. I would get so attached, and never be able to let them go home.” I have heard this, or variations of this, thought throughout the years from kind well-meaning people. This statement, that strokes my pride but forgets the work God has done in me, is the…
Seeking Beauty
I stared at the glowing screen, eyes glazed over, darting from one item to the next. I compared products and added to the ever growing “wishlist.” Babies don’t need much, but we are foster parents and instead of 9 months of preparation, we have weeks to prepare. Car seats. Consumer reports. Carriers. Will it arrive…
Deep Renewal
I sat at work in the local homeless shelter, and heard a measure of disbelief present in the voices of two women recounting their experience as “new” members of a Sunday school class at a local church. I was nervous, but felt so welcome. They bought us lunch. They all seem to have it together,…
Christmas Moments Amongst the Mundane
Last year, when Christmas tunes began to ring out from the radio, our mostly quiet family of three became a raucous party of seven. My husband and I have one teenage daughter and, while we weren’t on the list for emergency foster care, four siblings (ranging in ages from 7-15) were delivered to our home…
When the Adoption Fell Through
The night before it all fell through my husband had a dream that skated on the edge between sleep and wakefulness. The kind where you think your dream-life actually happened, only to wake and find it never existed at all. He was holding her, a girl we planned to name Harper, sleeping on his chest….
The Cry of Awareness
As I drove down the interstate a crying woman sped past me in the left lane, and a man talking animatedly on his blue-tooth zoomed by in the right. Wheeled bubbles of steel and glass rolled by the drama that clearly showed something was broken. Real people, with real lives, whizzing down the highway heading…
Anchored Voices 